Introducing Manbang, North Korea's version of Netflix

Netflix, an on-demand video streaming service, has a new competitor called Manbang, which North Korea invented. It allows people to watch five channels in real time and view information about the country's leader.

Manbang is a device that looks similar to a router and it plugs into a television set and the internet. Once it is set up, it offers streaming and on-demand capabilities.

The set-up box will allow users to access intranet, which is controlled by the state. Manbang's, which means "everything" in North Korea, channels are mostly documentaries about the history of government and leadership.

North Koreans will be able to use Manbang to read Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper, and to watch the Korean Central News Agency.

The engineer behind Manbang is Kim Jong Min, who says the information and communications technology is based upon two-way communications. He said if a user wants to watch an animal movie and they send a request to the equipment, then relevant video will be shown to the user.

Nobody is really sure how North Koreans will watch anything on Manbang because not many people have access to the Internet. In a nation of 25 million people, only a few thousand has access to the Internet, which is sanctioned by the state.

Regardless of only a few thousand having access to the Internet, Manbang is in high demand, according to the video below, which promotes the new device.